Dutch involvement in fisheries research prior to and in early ICES

The first General Secretary of ICES was P. P. C. Hoek. a well-known marine zoologist and a good organizer. As scientific adviser to the Dutch Council for Sea Fisheries, he stressed the need for proper scientific research before measures could be taken to prevent overfishing. For the foundation of ICES, concern about fish stocks (especially plaice) was just as important as relationships between hydrography and variations in the stocks of herring. ICES projects were a great impetus for marine science. At the new National Institute for Sea Research in Den Helder, fisheries, plankton, and seasonality of nutrients were studied. Later, the lack of permanent positions coupled with an interest in brackish inland waters contributed to a decline in research on the North Sea. After World War I, fisheries research suffered from fragmentation. In 1942, the various branches were reunited into the Netherlands Institute for Fisheries Research(RIVO), now in IJmuiden. The marine division of the Meteorological Institute (KNMI) remained active in North Sea hydrography, while the explosion in environmental research after World War II involved both governmental and other institutes in marine research relevant to ICES. A few research topics, initiated before 1910, but still of current interest (time series, nutrients, closed areas, and Phaeocystis blooms) are briefly considered.

Article from Marine Science Symposia Vol. 215 - 100 years of science under ICES. To access the remaining articles please click on the keyword "MSS Volume 215".